Types of anxiety

This section provides an overview of the most common types of anxiety disorders.

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

GAD is the most common type of anxiety disorder. The main symptom of GAD is over worrying about different activities and events. This may feel out of your control. You feel anxious a lot of the time if you have GAD. You might feel ‘on edge’ and alert to your surroundings.

This can affect your day-to-day life. You might find that it affects your ability to work, travel to places or leave the house. You might also get tired easily or have trouble sleeping or concentrating. You might have physical symptoms, such as muscle tension and sweating.

It is common to have other conditions such as depression or other anxiety disorders if you have GAD.

GAD can be difficult to diagnose because it does not have some of the unique symptoms of other anxiety disorders. Your doctor is likely to say you have GAD if you have felt anxious for most days over six months and it has had a bad impact on areas of your life.

Panic disorder

Panic disorder results in regular panic attacks with not particular trigger. They can happen suddenly and feel intense and frightening, it is also possible to dissociate during panic attacks. You may also worry about having another panic attack.

Certain situations can cause panic attacks, for example if you don’t like small spaces but have to use a lift. This doesn’t mean that you have a panic disorder.

Panic disorder symptoms can include the following:

An overwhelming sense of dread or fear

Chest pain or a sensation that your heart is beating irregularly

Feeling that you might be dying or having a heart attack

Sweating and hot flushes, or chills and shivering

A dry mouth, shortness of breath or choking sensation

Nausea, dizziness and feeling faint

Numbness, pins and needles or a tingling sensation in your fingers

A need to go to the toilet

A churning stomach

Ringing in your ears

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder is sometimes known as social phobia. Lots of people worry about social situations but if you have social anxiety you will have an intense fear or dread of social or performance situations. This can happen before, during or after the event.

Some common situations where you may experience anxiety:

Speaking in public or in groups

Meeting new people or strangers

Dating

Eating or drinking in public

You may be worried that you will do something or act in a way that is embarrassing. You might feel aware of the physical signs of your anxiety. This can include:

Sweating

A fast heartbeat

Shaky voice

Blushing

You may worry that others will notice this or judge you. You might find that you try to avoid certain situations. You might realise that your fears are excessive, but you find it difficult to control them.

Phobias

A phobia is an overwhelming fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal.

Phobias are stronger than fears. They develop when a person has increased feelings of danger about a situation or object. Someone with a phobia may arrange their daily routine to avoid the thing that’s causing them anxiety.

Common examples of phobias include:

Animal phobias – Such spiders, snakes or rodents

Environmental phobias – Such as heights and germs

Situational phobias – Such as going to the dentist

Body phobias – Such as blood or being sick

Sexual phobias – Such as performance anxiety

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult. Or situations where help wouldn’t be available if things go wrong. This could be:

Leaving your home

Being in public spaces

Using public transport

Being in crowded spaces

You might find that these situations make you feel distressed, panicked and anxious. You may avoid some situations altogether. This can affect day-to-day life.

Agoraphobia can make it difficult to make an appointment with your GP to talk about your symptoms. You might not feel able to leave your house or go to the GP surgery. You can arrange a telephone appointment if you have symptoms of agoraphobia. A GP will decide on the best treatment options for you depending on what you tell them.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

You will have obsessions, compulsion or both if you have OCD.

An obsession is an unwelcome thought or image that you keep thinking about and is largely out of your control. These can be difficult to ignore. These thoughts can be disturbing, which can make you feel distressed and anxious.

Compulsion is something you think about or do repeatedly to relieve anxiety. This can be hidden or obvious. Such as saying a phrase in your head to calm yourself. Or checking that the front door is locked.

You might believe that something bad will happen if you do not do these things. You may realise that your thinking and behaviour is not logical but still find it very difficult to stop.

There are different types of OCD, which include:

Contamination – A need to clean and wash because something or someone is contaminated

Intrusive thoughts – Thoughts which are repetitive, upsetting and often horrific

Hoarding – Not feeling able to throw away useless or worn out items

Speak to your GP if you think you have OCD. They should discuss treatment options with you.

Skin-picking

Skin picking is medically known as dermatillomania. It is an impulse control disorder. You will regularly pick at your skin including healthy skin. This can cause damage, including bleeding, bruising and sometimes permanent marks. It is common to pick the skin on your face, but might also pick other areas of the body. You will find it difficult to stop yourself doing it.

No-one knows the cause for skin-picking. It is thought that it could be a type of addiction. Or it relieves tension and stress. It is common to have OCD and dermatillomania at the same time.

Your GP may arrange for you to see a specialist mental health doctor like a psychiatrist for diagnosis.

Hair pulling

Hair pulling is medically known as trichotillomania. It’s an impulse control disorder. You feel the urge to pull out your hair if you have this condition while there are no underlying illnesses, such as a skin condition, causing you to pull your hair out. It can be from your scalp or other places such as your arms, eyelashes, eyebrows, legs or pubic area. You will find it difficult to stop yourself doing this.

You might experience a build-up of tension which you can relieve by pulling out the strand of hair. You may feel relief or pleasure from pulling hair out or you might not even be aware that you’re doing it.

It can be difficult to stop, which can lead to hair loss and distress. This, in turn, can make you feel guilty, embarrassed and affect how you feel about yourself or how your friends and family see you.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

You have PTSD if your anxiety symptoms were caused by a threatening life situation, such as a train crash or fire. You can feel anxious for months or years after the event even if you weren’t physically harmed at the time. Find out more about PTSD.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

You will have upsetting thoughts about the way you look if you have BDD. The thoughts don’t go away and have a big effect on daily life. This is not the same as being vain about your appearance. You may believe that you are ugly and that everyone sees you as ugly, even if they reassure you that this isn’t true. Or you may believe that people are focused on an area of your body such as scar or birthmark. It can be very distressing and lead to depression.

You may spend a large amount of time:

Staring at your face or body in the mirror

Comparing your features with other people

Covering yourself with lots of makeup

Thinking about plastic surgery

Speak to your GP if you think you have BDD. They should discuss treatment options with you. The GP may arrange for a team with more BDD experience to help you.